Living the Nightmare
Living the Nightmare is a dark story revolving around the Ta-Matoran Curtis, that is being hunted by a malevolent presence. It is canon to the Rebirth Alternate Universe storyline. Prologue : Question of Fate "Most species of our Universe believe in fate. And for a reason. Matoran (and the other species) all have their destinies written in the stars, in the wind, or in other natural phenomenons (question of choice ; however, most of these prophecies happens). But of course, we, men of sciences, saw the exception to the rule : the anomalies. '' ''The anomalies (singular : anomaly) are beings which destinies aren't fixed in time and space. They are litteraly unable to see where their path will end (or begin, depending on the situation). Anomalies are however very rare, and some of them continue to disappear mysteriously. There was an old tale concerning anomalies. It told that, at the beginning of the Cosmos, the Gods created three entities to "correct" the exceptions at the rules they made. The first was Ciu, and was the Corrector of Space. The second was Diu, the Corrector of Time. The last was Ziu, the Corrector of Fate. According to myths, he was the most frightening of the three, because he killed the ones "defying Destiny itself". But, of course, those are fairytales, and we, men of sciences, do not even dare touch the area of the legends and imagination." -''"Defying physics and fate", authors unknown.'' Chapter One : Voices and Dreams Curtis was the most normal Ta-Matoran in the Universe. Seriously, he was. Firstly, Curtis had a job. He was the local smith on his own island. Not really his island, because lots of Matoran lived on it. Even if the Matoran didn't even bothered giving it a name, it was still their home. Curtis was the best smith those Matoran had, and he would do anything for them. Absolutely everything. Secondly, Curtis had friends. A job as important as smith sure brings respect in the community, and respect was the base of friendship. But those friends didn't just respect him, they had faith in him. Those two beings that Curtis admired the most were Jevla, and Miscris. Jevla was the woodcutter of the village, an happy soul, and a veteran jester. Miscris was the guard of the village and a thinker, but things like attacks are rare on the island, and, as such, she didn't have much job. The Ta-Matoran was a little attracted to her, but like most shy person, kept it to himself. Lastly, Curtis respected the Three Virtues : Unity, Duty and Destiny. Curtis was really excellent in the two first. The last however, is the most difficult to see how to achieve it, and mostly all Matoran thought that it was tied with Duty. And Curtis, in his own point of view, thought he would die a smith, happily, with his friends on that island. So he thought. But that wasn't to be. * * * Curtis was walking in a dark corridor and something followed him. Strangely, the Ta-Matoran was able to think in his dream. However, he couldn't control his movements. ''-"By Mata Nui! Where am I going?"'' ''-"To meet your fate, mortal!"'' Curtis rotated quickly on his feet only to meet ... darkness. Utter darkness. ''-"Where are you? I don't fear you!" shouted Curtis.'' ''-"I am the darkness. I am the nightmare. I am the one who will make you bow down to destiny, aberration!'"'' And an enormous blade went horizontaly to chop the head of Curtis. * * * Curtis woke up in panic. The last sentence of the nightmare still in his head. It bumped into every part of his head. -"I am the one who will make you bow down to destiny, aberration!" And Curtis screamed in the night, because of the pain of hearing this again. Someone was screaming with him, too. * * * "Meanwhile, at Kiruss' hut ... ''" Kiruss was alone. As always. The crazed Ko-Matoran was perhaps the most solitary soul on the island and the strangest. His hut was the farthest from the village, in an inaccesible, dead volcano crater. He was known for collecting things as useless rocks, leaves and pieces of equipement and decorating his hut with them. He was also talking to the the twin moons. -"Oh, but you, you know me too well, you two!" each time he yell, when he had an idea, or when he found something beautiful. This time, Kiruss was talking to them about a strange rock (to his standard) he found in the forest, very far from the volcanic crater. -"It's all black, like the night skies you dwell in, but it's more like a mirror. I can see myself in it. It's beautiful! Was it a gift from you?" he questionned the two moons. There was no answer, but Kiruss himself seemed to have heard something. -"Oh, thank you! You two are so kind! I want my other friends on the island to have the same luck as having you! You know me too well!" Then there was a response. But Kiruss knew it was not from the twin moons. It was a dark and powerful voice, screaming of hatred within his head. -"'You shall do the perfect first victim! The crazed hermit, living alone outside of the village! They will know your death thought. And they shall fear ... as they always did before me." Kiruss felt a blade throught his chest, and the blade then left his body. Kiruss tried to turn to face his aggressor, and saw the most frightening thing he has ever saw. He screamed so loudly that all of the village was awakened by it, even if he was on the other side of the island, before having his own head chopped off. The moons, as always, stayed silent to that unnatural crime. Chapter 2 : Investigations Curtis didn't sleep after the nightmare he made. He was always looking across his room, in case the darkness came again. He even cried when his little Korho-Nui came in, begging for his daily ration. What scared Curtis the most, was the fact that he was sure he heard someone else scream right at the time where he did. Taking all the courage he had, he got up from his bed, and prepared his little investigation. * * * -"Tell the the archivist that the time of death occured at approximately 2 A.M." Miscris said to Luiyre, her associate. Miscris didn't like the view. The fact that Kiruss was killed was hard enough. It's true, he was crazy, but he never mentionned the Moons-talk in public, except when someone asked about it. He was always ready to lend a hand, even when the other didn't want to work with him. He was kind, and resourceful. How could he have built this huge hut by himself then? But the fact that he might have been murdered ... it was too much. Miscris felt she was going puke at the grim scene before her. Kiruss was decapitated as he was alive. It was confirmed by the village doctor, Akagi. But just to approach it, you had to do some exercises. Kiruss' head was found at 5 meters of the ground, on a shelf, just before his dream diary with his bloodied cover. On Kiruss' head was a message about it, saying : "When you'll find those words in the book, you'll know fear itself : "Looked last night, Oblivion draws nigh!" And when Miscris looked, afterward, for the last night in the diary. She screamed when she noticed Kiruss' missing heartlight at the last page. But apparently, that wasn't enough for the aggressor. He also chopped of all the limbs and created a grotesque cross with the headless corpse. On Kiruss' body was engraved those words. "''Here lies Kiruss. Innocent, but guilty of complicity." Miscris wondered. Complicity of what? Kiruss would never had done something wrong. He was so kind ... no, it couldn't be. The Ga-Matoran also analysed the murderer's profile, while studying the crime scene. The murderer was someone agile, for getting the head on such a shelf without any helping furniture, in less than 30 minutes. He also attacked him by surprise, because the corpse's analysis revealed that he was penetrated in the back by a jagged blade, he then turned around, and got his head chopped off in one blow, which meaned the aggressor was incredibly strong. And then ... the strange part. Kiruss always lock his door from the inside, and the door were still locked, and weren't picked, which either meaned Kiruss forgot to close a door or a window (very unlikely), or ... The aggressor would simply have materialized in the room. Which is impossible. Miscris was on the strangest case she ever saw. The fact that the victim was someone she knew was the most horrible part to that. The Guard Captain went back to the village. She could swear that, on the way, something followed her. Something not very welcome here. Something dark. * * * Curtis was walking in the village to go to his forge when he sensed that something was wrong. Everyone looked grim, as if, ... no, Curtis wouldn't believe in it. Only when he saw his friend Jevla that he had the confirmation. -"Curtis, do you at least know what is going on?" he said. -"No. I slept a bit late." Curtis responded. -"Kiruss got killed. In his hut. He got decapitated!" Jevla cried. Curtis was stunned. Decapitated? Like what almost happened in his ... nightmare? -"That's very strange ... " Curtis began saying. -"Of course, we're not used of having someone killed, Curtis!" Jevla said, indignant. -"No, not in that way, Jevla. I think ... I dreamed of it, last night." Jevla looked surprised and ... fearfull? -"You ... dreamt of it?" -"Yeah, there was like a shadow ... " -" ... Chasing you in a dark hallway?" Curtis was again stupefied. He dreamt it too? -"Did your ... nightmare say anything?" -"Yes, Curt, it did : innocent, but guilty of complicity. What could that mean?" Curtis was frightened. If he said the truth, ... could he ... ? -"It said the same thing!" -"We should warn Miscris. Maybe that could help her ..." Jevla said. -"How? How is she supposed to catch ... a nightmare?" Curtis responded. Jevla raised his shoulders. Miscris was the most clever person he knew. She would figure a way. So they went to the Guards' office, without any suspicions that they were watched and studied under all angles. Intermede 1 : In the mind of Madness (Part 1) Astonishingly, this species was carefree, but remarkably ... not the one that the Shade was hunting. For a long time now, Ziu stalked his prey, sending him orders for him to isolate himself, to be an easy kill. Yet this one ... This one was really different. He countered all of his psychic attacks, except when he used his last, powerful power. The Nightmare. No matter. He was a simple mortal, nothing near the Toa the Darkness already executed in the past. Those beings' minds were powerful, but they didn't achieve maturity yet. Killing them physically was the only way ... Yet Ziu sensed something more about that one. He was emitting some sort of an aura near him, making his friends more comfortable, more confident. Ziu first thought it was charisma, the natural confidence of that being, but no ... The Nightmare realised in horror that this abomination was reaching maturity. And faster than the average. Maybe Ziu's own presence triggered that change of pace ... but it could NOT reach full potential. Ziu would rather die than to see him counter his plan. -"Time to face your fate, abomination. Death." The Shade will not let him escape his first physical encounter with him. Never. Chapter 3 : Like slashing Air itself Curtis and Jevla met Miscris as she was going back to the village, as the sky was darkening, predicting an exceptionally powerful storm in an hour approximately. The forest beside them were silent, yet they were too absorbed in their conversation to notice. -"You know that this murder was no natural death, don't you, Miscris? The thing that killed him was not of this world! Curtis shouted. -"It is perfectly possible that he is from this world and you know it! Mata Nui, your ghost stories are annoying, and I have a real job to do! Miscris said, exasperated. -"I've got a strange feeling right now. In my guts ..." Jevla whispered, cutting the argument between Miscris and Curtis. They all stopped to look around them. It was really, really dark, as if the sun itself disappeared, and never returned. The forest was in a silence of death, not even a single noise coming from it. The road was shadowy, and the Matoran weren't even sure they were on it anymore. Curtis drew his Fire claws from his back. Miscris and Jevla did the same afterward, she with her disk-launcher, and Jevla with his Air swords. -"Reveal yourself, whatever you are!" Curtis shouted, even thougt he never meant to say it out loud. It seemed time stopped, since there was no sound, no movement, nothing. There was no wind anymore. Their own breath seemed stopping. At the middle of the road, a void appeared, a darkness in humanoid form, approaching. Curtis quickly realised in fear that his Nightmare had come to life. He looked at his friends, and they were paralysed in fear, unable even to apprehend this new evil. Curtis stepped up from them. The Darkness stopped, drawing his beautiful, but dreadful, jagged sword. -"How courageous of you to step up, and save your friends! Why do you people always have to be heroes?" the being said mockingly. -"Come to me, then, monster. Come to me and finish what you began ... at your own risks." Curtis responded, as a wave of bravery flew througt his body. Curtis lifted his Fire claws in a defensive position. The Void simply stood still, his lidless dark eyes gazing at him. The battle would begin. And so would the war. *** -"At least you face your destiny head-on, unlike all the one that preceded you. I admire that!" The shadowy being said. -"But why? Why me? Why my dreams, and why kill Kiruss, if I'm the one to blame?" The Void seemed to grow smaller for an instant. -'Unity. Duty. Destiny.' it answered, coldly. -"That's... THAT'S NO ANSWER!"